1948 VFL grand final

Lead-up Essendon had been the dominant-performing club in 1948, finishing as minor premiers with a 16–2–1 record and a 14-point lead over its nearest rivals. Melbourne finished second with a 13–6 record, above on percentage and one win ahead of in fourth. Essendon 13.16 (94) defeated Melbourne 8.10 (58) in the second semi-final to progress to the grand final; Melbourne then faced in the preliminary final, and they won 25.16 (166) d. 15.11 (101) to qualify. Entering the grand final, Essendon had won twelve games in a row. Melbourne had sprung a series of surprise selections during the 1948 finals series. After he had spent most of the season as playing coach of the reserves team, 33-year-old forward Jack Mueller was recalled for the preliminary final against and kicked eight goals. Centre half-back Alan McGowan was reported during the preliminary final and suspended; his place in the side was taken by leading amateur player and University Blacks captain Denis Cordner – and brother of club captain Don Cordner – whose only previous senior game VFL game had occurred while on leave from the navy in 1943. Essendon made one change to its winning second semi-final team, veteran Wally Buttsworth returning from injury, Wally May dropped to the bench as reserve, and Harry Equid dropped to emergency. Shortly before the match began, Melbourne lost Bob McKenzie to injury; emergency Doug Heywood – also now a University Blacks amateur player whose first VFL game for the season had been the preliminary final – came into the team to replace him. First quarter The game opened with several rough encounters, Essendon attacked first and had a couple of behinds on the board before Melbourne kicked the game's first goal with a kick over Jack Mueller's head which was crumbed by Eddie Craddock. The bell rang and the game was drawn, Essendon 7.27 (69) vs Melbourne 10.9 (69). Review According to the Sporting Globe newspaper, Melbourne forward Norm Smith was the best player on the ground. Although he himself kicked only one goal, he regularly launched the Melbourne attacks and assisted on many of Mueller's six goals. Dick Reynolds was best for Essendon, his strong midfield play bringing the Bombers back into the game at key times. Other players considered among the best for Melbourne were rover Alby Rodda and amateur centre half-back Denis Cordner – although the latter tired as the game went on. Bob McClure was Essendon's top key position player, and half-forward Ted Leehane became prominent once he broke away from Denis Cordner in the second half. The Age writer Percy Beames was particularly scathing of the Bombers' forward play, noting that "position play was completely ignored, and forward work resulted in a hopeless jumble of self-seeking glorification". It was the second straight year that the Bombers were left to lament their poor kicking in the grand final, having lost 11.19 (85) to 13.8 (86) in 1947. Overall, scribes considered general play to have been relatively even, despite Essendon's advantage in scoring shots, and considered that Melbourne's structure and teamwork was superior to Essendon's. Scorecard ==Grand final replay==

Lead-up Both teams made changes to their grand final teams. Melbourne brought back Bob McKenzie, who had been forced out on the morning of the grand final with injury, and dropped Doug Heywood back to emergency. Essendon made three published changes: Wally May, Les Gardiner and Harry Equid all came into the starting 18 for Bob Syme (who was dropped to reserve), Doug Bigelow (omitted from the 20) and Harold Lambert (injured). On the morning of the match, Essendon lost Wally Buttsworth after a training incident caused a recurrence of the knee injury which had kept him out of the semi-final; and Bob Syme returned to the starting 18 to replace him, and emergency Ron McEwin stripped as reserve. The replay was played in wet conditions, and a substantially smaller crowd of 52,226 turned out to the match. Grand final replay teams Umpire – Jack McMurray Grand final replay team changes Melbourne Essendon First quarter The frantic opening minutes saw Essendon kick the first two behinds of the game, before Melbourne began to dominate play, winning in the ruck, winning the physical contests, and preventing Essendon from winning through the centreline. Adrian Dullard kicked the opening goal from a set shot after five minutes of play. Three more goals quickly followed over a four-minute period, to Jack Mueller, Noel McMahen, and Mueller again. Second quarter Essendon's position improved through the second quarter, and Bill Hutchison kicked their opening goal early in the quarter; but Melbourne responded quickly with goals to George Bickford and Arnold, extending the margin to a game-high 40 points. Essendon responded with the next four goals: led by Perc Bushby in the ruck, Essendon kicked the next two goals, first to Jack Jones, then Bill Brittingham from a mark in the goal square; two more goals to Bob Syme and Brittingham following, narrowing the margin to 16 points and giving Essendon a chance. There was a short incident when Mueller dropped Essendon defender Norm McDonald and Essendon's Cec Ruddell remonstrated, and soon afterwards Norm Smith kicked Melbourne's ninth goal. Other players highlighted for their efforts were Melbourne full-forward Jack Mueller and centre half-forward Lance Arnold, centreman George Bickford and wingman Max Spittle. Essendon's best were Bob McClure and Norm McDonald. Scorecard ==See also==